


Persuasion and Puppies

by robertsaaronsebastianskurt



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Boyfriends, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Puppies, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 13:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5006566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robertsaaronsebastianskurt/pseuds/robertsaaronsebastianskurt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robert and Aaron are convinced to take in a litter of orphaned puppies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Persuasion and Puppies

**Author's Note:**

> HEY! LONG TIME, NO POST EH? Sorry :(  
> Just an update~~ I've been working on a new long multi-chapter for ages, but I'm not going to upload any yet until I've got a few chapters done, but I wanted to let you know it's in the pipeline!! Eyy, I'm excited for y'all to read. PLus, i will get Debris and Destruction done eventually;) Some is done, I promise. 
> 
> Anyway, this is just a cute fic based on a prompt I got from this website http://creativichee.tumblr.com/miniscenario check it out, it's AMAZING for generating ideas if you have brain fog. Think we need a bit of fluff now that bae is in prison.

“No, Paddy.”

“Oh, please Aaron. Help me out here.”

“Paddy, the answer is no.” Aaron shook his head, and looked over at Paddy. He couldn’t believe he was asking him this, the cheek of it.

“For god sake. I ask you this one tiny thing,” Paddy made a gesture with his thumb and forefinger to emphasise his point, “and you can’t do it for me. Think of all the times I’ve helped your sorry ass out.”

“Oh come on! That’s not fair. You can’t guilt trip me into agreeing,” Aaron gave him a knowing look, “Plus, I never asked you too.”

Paddy huffed like a stroppy child would and leaned heavily on the table in the Woolpack, opposite to Aaron, his fists pushed up against his cheeks resulting in his glasses being pushed up his face at a weird angle. He looked so pitiful and defeated that Aaron almost caved… almost.

When Robert walked in, all smiles and charm, Aaron’s mood immediately lifted.

“Hey.” Aaron muttered when Robert had ambled over to their table. He leaned up to meet Roberts lips in a small peck followed up an Eskimo kiss. They exchanged a few small questions and answers about their day as Robert got settled next to Aaron, gesturing at Chas to get him a drink. But when he caught sight of Paddy’s face, his attention shifted.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Don’t ask.”

 “Right, okay-“Paddy started, coming out of his mini tantrum by letting his hands fall off his face and onto the table with a loud slap.

“Oh, here we go.” Aaron rolled his eyes, and slouched in his seat.

“-I’ve got these litter of orphaned-“he emphasised the word, “-puppies, and they don’t have a home for the next few days and they can’t stay in the vets because they need looking after.”

Robert smiled awkwardly, a polite yet confused look showing across his face. He motioned for Paddy to continue so he could understand what he had so clearly missed.

“Well, your lovely _boyfriend_ here refuses to take them in.” He made a gesture as if to say ‘can you believe this?’, his eyes bulging as he sighed loudly.

“Why can’t you have them?”

“I would, but Rhona’s sick, and she said she can’t deal with the responsibility when she needs to rest.”

“Oh.” Robert took the opportunity to smile at Chas and thank her as she brought him a pint over. He loved the privileges of dating the landlady’s son.

Throughout the exchange, Aaron had been alternating between rolling his eyes, biting his lip in exasperation and drinking his pint. He knew Robert wouldn’t fall for it; out of the two of them, _Aaron_ was the one more likely to be persuaded by this type of situation. Robert wouldn’t have any of it, he was certain.  His mind would be to focused on thinking of his free time that would be taken up that could alternatively be spent perfecting his sex techniques or the interruption to his morning routine that involved staring at his face for half an hour checking for the slightly imperfection on his angel-like face. No, if they had to look after puppies, there is no way any of the important things to Robert would stay the same.

 But when Aaron looked over at Robert, ready to find a mocking or scathing look directed at Paddy, he found a contemplating one look in its place.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad.”

Paddy clapped his hands together, unable to contain the gleeful expression that broke out across his face.

“You are joking, right?”

“Aaron, they need us.” Robert stuck his lower lip out in a way he knew Aaron couldn’t resist. It’s how he’d got him to do so many things in the bedroom department he never thought he would, “Besides, I thought you like dogs.”

“Yes. _Dogs_. One’s that are _trained_ and won’t _poo_ on my favourite jacket!”

But in the end, Aaron knew he’d lost, judging by the triumphant look on Paddy’s face, and that’s how he found himself staring at 3 (completely not) adorable black Labrador puppies in the back of the Vet’s clinic.

“You can name them, if you want.”

Aaron shot Paddy what could only be described as a ‘death stare’. Despite his heart melting (not that he would admit it) at the sight of the tiny canines, he knew the next few days would be a nightmare. He could barely take care of himself, living of a steady diet of cheesy pasta and cereal if Robert wasn’t around to cook, let alone take care of three living creatures. He and Robert had only recently found a place of their own, and there were still boxes littered around the place (Robert had threatened to withhold sex if he didn’t unpack soon, but something told Aaron that his boyfriend would cave first, so he’d ignored him), and they were still settling in and working out how to be around each other for several hours of the day. This was bestowing a shared responsibility upon them, and that overwhelmed Aaron, and he couldn’t work out why the same wasn’t happening for Robert.

“We’ll think of something.” Robert smiled, leaning down to scratch behind the ear of a sleepy pup, gushing as if it were a small child.

Paddy smiled at him, then clapped his hands together. “Right, lads. Let’s carry em’ over to yours and get em’ settled.”

“You better be paying for this.” Aaron muttered under his breath, but Paddy either didn’t hear him or was choosing to ignore him.

They took turns picking up the 10 week old Labradors; the last one, a male a little smaller than his siblings, had a mischievous look in his eyes as Aaron secured him in arms as if to say ‘good luck not falling in love with me.’ The tiny puppy nipped at Aaron’s jaw, then gave him a playful lick. Aaron chuckled, stroking at the fine hairs of his back as he walked out of the clinic in pursuit of his (sort of) dad, and boyfriend.

A few hours later, Aaron was sat in front of the fireplace of his and Robert’s small cottage located in the centre of the village, dragging a toy elephant across the floor for one of the puppies to chase. Another of the puppies, the only female in the orphaned litter, was curled up on Robert’s chest while he watched Pitch Perfect (his guilty pleasure) on the Sky Movies channel. He was lazily playing with her velvety ears, with a sleepy yet satisfied expression on his face. Aaron took a mental picture because it was, without a doubt, one of the cutest things he’d ever witnessed.

Robert Sugden, master romancer and expert manipulator, was an out-and-proud lover of puppies.

The last puppy, the lively and boisterous of the group, was climbing on any and all furniture currently in their living room. Aaron had to get up every now and again to check his whereabouts, and pick him up if he’d wiggled his way into a particularly narrow crevice. He was currently sat on top of one of Aaron’s unpacked boxes, looking like he was surveying his new kingdom.

Aaron was startled out of staring at the cute pooch in front of him by the sound of Roberts voice, “What are we going to call them?”

“We’re not keeping them Robert.”

“I know that. But they still need names.”

“How about Lucifer for that one?” Aaron pointed in a finger in the direction of the cheeky pup that was now biting the edge of the box. As the attention shifted to him, the puppy’s ears shot forward and his head tilted to the side.

“Aw, come on, A. You can’t name something so cute ‘Lucifer’.”

Aaron sighed, looking at the elephant in his hand. The other male puppy had now climbed onto his lap and was pushing against his free hand as if he wanted to be stroked. Aaron obliged.

“Okay, how about Prince?”

Robert mulled it over, and Aaron could hear him muttering it under his breath to see if he liked the way it sounded. “Yes! That’s perfect.”

“I try,” Aaron aimed a cheeky look it Robert’s direction and blew him an air kiss. “Are you going to name that one?” Aaron nodded his head to the female puppy now drooling on one of Robert’s hideous shirts.

“How about… um, Daisy.” Aaron furrowed his eyebrows, so Robert continued, “As in lazy Daisy.”

“That’s actually kind of cute.” Aaron stood up them, picking the unnamed canine and sitting himself next to Robert on the sofa, close enough to lean his head on his shoulder. Robert turned so that he could kiss the side of his head. Prince witnessed this and obviously begun to feel left out and he took a leap of faith off the boxes and fell, rather clumsily, on to his back before he wiggled up onto four feet and trotted over to the sofa, wanting to be part of the cuddles.

Robert leaned down to pick up the feisty male and placed him in between his and Aaron’s body. Prince made a contended grunt as Aaron stroked his ears and settled down to watch as Fat Amy gets hit with a burrito on screen, listening as it brought a light chuckle from Robert.

“So are you going to name the last one?”

“What about Jesse?” Aaron couldn’t be more creative as he felt his brain fog over with sleep, so he mumbled the name of Skylar Astin’s character who was currently on screen so he wouldn’t have to use up any brain power.

He felt Robert nod beside him. “Yeah, I like it.”

An hour later, Victoria and Adam let themselves into Robert and Aaron’s cottage (albeit with caution, just in case they were lacking clothes as they had many times in the past) to find them both fast asleep with their heads pressed together surrounded by three sleeping puppies. Adam smiled at the picture that they made, ready to leave them both in peace and sneak quietly out of the door but Victoria made an involuntary squee-ing sound at the sight of the pups which startled all five of them from their sleep.

…

Over the next days, Robert and Aaron adapted to having to look after themselves as well as three rather mischievous puppies. On the first night, they had slept in the bed with the two men and started climbing on their faces at five o’clock in the morning, which prompted Aaron to hit Robert in the face repeatedly until he got up and fed them.

They took turns in attempting to train the puppies, with help from Paddy of course, but Robert seemed to give up every time and start playing with them instead, insisting that they’d learn what they needed to in time. But after a particularly bad ‘wee incident’, Robert changed his mind.

“Aaron! Aaron, come here and look at this!” Robert shouted.

“What?”

“Prince has wee’d on my favourite jacket!”

Aaron laughed for, what felt like, ten minutes straight. He couldn’t lie, he hated the jacket. Light brown leather? Who would think that was a good idea? After he’d schooled his expression and looked back up at a rather pissed off Robert, Aaron muttered, “What do you expect me to do about it?”

Robert stamped his foot in a child-like manner, before muttering, “I don’t know. It was your dad who made us look after them.”

“Actually, Rob, if I remember correctly, it was _you_ who said ‘it wouldn’t be so bad’” The poorly executed imitation of Robert’s voice made both of them laugh and the potential for a fight was broken.

“What are we gonna’ do?”

“No, no. What are _you_ gonna’ do. You agreed to this, so you take responsibility for them. I’m going for a pint with Adam.” He kissed Roberts mouth hard before practically running out of the door so Robert couldn’t argue. After that, Robert took the training more seriously, and soon, all three became toilet trained thanks to Robert’s persistence.

Aaron would be the last to admit it, but the three puppies fit well into their home, and over the next three weeks, they developed a routine to fit around their needs, and they each witnessed as all three developed separate personalities that made them so utterly loveable and capable of worming their way into the hearts of anyone that came across them.

Prince was the classic ‘naughty’ pup, chewing on things he shouldn’t, working his way into the food cupboard and peeing on half of Robert’s wardrobe (that was what made Aaron love him if he was honest), but he had found a way to get away with all of those things with the head tilt and large puppy dog eyes, so Robert and Aaron couldn’t stay mad at him for long.

Daisy spent most of her time napping in any comfortable place she could find. Her favourite spot was, without a doubt, Robert’s chest; whenever Robert was home, she would pester him until he settled down on the sofa and she would climb onto him and fall fast asleep, usually for the rest of the night. She took a particular shine to Robert, and Aaron thought it was _very_ cute.

Jesse was the needy one. The one who demanded attention, who pawed at Aaron’s face at four o’clock on a Saturday morning when he was hungover from the piss up the previous night. He would follow Aaron, and sometimes Robert, around and insist that he played with him by nipping at their ankles. The other two pups rarely showed interest in the toys scattered around the cottage, but Jesse worshipped them, particularly the squeaky ones that he would play with at inappropriate times of the morning. Aaron spent more time at the pet shop looking for new toys than he spent at the scrapyard doing work.

They were both surprised at how well they had coped with the responsibility, and not just that, how much they had enjoyed the shared experience. They hadn’t even complained to Paddy once, and avoided the discussion about if they’d be leaving. They had already stayed longer than anticipated; they didn’t mind though, not one bit.

So, when Paddy came round with the news that he had found them a forever home, both Robert and Aaron felt the stabbing disappointment in their guts.

They had been sat trying to train each of the pups in turn to sit, but Daisy was showing no interest and had curled up in a ball on her fluffy green bed in the corner of the room, and Prince kept licking Aarons hand and climbing all over him, which Robert had filmed to add to their collection of ‘cute puppy vids’.  

“You, what? You found them a home?”

“Yeah, in Hotten.”

“Don’t you think you should have asked us first, Pad?” Aaron asked, the disappointment evident in his voice.

“You’ve changed your tune.”

“Yeah, well.” Aaron looked shyly down at Prince, who was now climbing on his lap and sniffing at his clothes.

“Are you saying you want to keep them?” Paddy sounded strangely hopeful.

Aaron looked over at Robert, who shrugged as if this _wasn’t_ a huge decision that they needed to make together. Aaron could see it now, their house filled with the sounds of barks, the Saturday night cuddles with them as they watched trashy TV and views of both he and Robert talking the dogs out for walks on their free weekends. It was what he’d always pictured for his and Robert’s life together; not necessarily in this way and at this time, but it was what he wanted nonetheless.

“Rob?”

“I mean, yeah. I’m a little bit in love with them. But it’s up to you, A.” Robert’s eyes shined as he kissed Daisy on the head, and Aaron knew would pay any price to keep that look on his lover’s face. “I don’t want to make you do something you don’t want.”

Aaron was thoughtful for a moment, before he climbed to his feet and walked to Robert, bending down to put his hand on his boyfriend’s neck. “I want this. I want to keep the puppies.” They smiled at each other before sharing a passionate kiss, until they were reminded that Paddy was still in the room.

“So, should I let these people down or what?”

“Yeah. These are our puppies now.”

Both men realised how much of a big deal this was, but seen as they had adapted so easily to it, they thought they could handle it and they let the feelings of adrenaline run through their bodies so they felt high on excitement, They have gained something they hadn’t even realised they wanted, and it had made them whole. Once Paddy had left, they shared another few kisses before Aaron muttered, “Come on, let’s get them fed.”

…

Two years later, Paddy was walking through the village when he spotted his son and his husband in the park, arms around each other as Robert chucked a large stick for three fully sized Labradors. The look on both of their faces was one of utter happiness, and Paddy smiled hugely before walking over to greet them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading:-) Mistakes are my own.  
> Lemme know your thoughts and come visit at robertsaaronsebastianskurt.tumblr.com 
> 
> LOVE TO MY ROBRON FAMILY<333


End file.
